New Trader Joe's draws big crowd

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

The new store will be Trader Joe’s second in San Antonio. Its first location opened in November 2012 at 350 E. Basse Road in the Quarry Village. (Express-News file photo)

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Manager Jorge Macias tries to help move customers through the checkout lanes as Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo By Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo By Ana Ley/Express-News

Jessica Bargo rings up a customer at the newly opened Trader Joe's at Alamo Quarry Village Friday morning. Bargo normally works at the chain's Fort Worth store, but she was working at the San Antonio location on opening day.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Ana Ley/Express-News

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Ana Ley/Express-News

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Ana Ley/Express-News

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo By Neal Morton/San Antonio Express-News

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

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Big crowds greeted this morning's grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village, and off-duty police officers directed traffic through the packed parking lot.

It's safe to say at least one of those customers left happy.

Mary Calhoun said she wanted to cry when she saw her total in the checkout line.

“It's tears of joy” because the items she bought cost far less than she'd expected, Calhoun said.

She said her daughter TreVon White has cancer and can only eat organic and vegan food. So when she paid $107 instead of the $200 she usually would for the food, she was thrilled.

“Woo!” Calhoun yelled as her groceries were bagged, drawing the attention of smiling customers and store employees. “I am so excited to be here!”

By 11 a.m., employees worked hard to keep customers happy in an ever-lengthening checkout line.

As it wrapped around nearly the whole store, workers tried to distract customers with samples of Trader Joe's unique offerings, including the crowd favorite: Cookie Butter.

When one customer saw the line, she instead began returning the few items in her basket to the shelves.

“Is this really the line to check out?” she asked. “Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

“I'll just come back another time.”

The 11,000-square-foot-store originally was scheduled to open Oct. 19, but the Monrovia-Calif.-based company postponed the opening until 8 a.m. today because of construction delays.

The later opening date worked for Carole Steger, a Laguna Beach, Calif., native who has waited for Trader Joe's to open in San Antonio since she moved here four years ago.

Her daughter delivered Steger a new grandchild about the same time Trader Joe's originally would have opened.

“I don't have to separate my attention now,” she said. “It's nice to focus on the fun of shopping here.”